1 And now, here is my servant,[1] to whom I grant protection, the man of my choice, greatly beloved. My spirit rests upon him, and he will proclaim right order among the Gentiles. 2 He will not be contentious or a lover of faction; none shall hear his voice in the streets. 3 He will not snap the staff that is already crushed, or put out the wick that still smoulders; but at last he will establish right order unfailingly.[2] 4 Not with sternness, not with violence; to set up right order on earth, that is his mission. He has a law to give; in the far-off islands men wait for it eagerly. 5 Thus says the Lord God, he who created the heavens and spread them out, craftsman of the world and all the world affords, he who gives being and breath to all that lives and moves on it: 6 True to my purpose, I, the Lord, have summoned thee, taking thee by the hand and protecting thee, to make, through thee, a covenant with my own people, to shed, through thee, light over the Gentiles: 7 to give sight to blinded eyes, to set the prisoner free from his captivity, from the dungeon where he lies in darkness. 8 I am the Lord, whose name tells of power; I will not let the boast that is mine pass to another, or share my renown with graven gods. 9 What I told you long since,[3] has proved true under your eyes; I tell you now what is still to be; you shall hear of it before ever it comes to light.

10 Sing the Lord a new song; let his praise sound from end to end of the earth. Praise him from the sea, all men that sail on it, and all creatures the sea contains; the islands and the island-dwellers. 11 Let the wilderness, now, lift up its head,[4] and the desert cities; the men of Cedar shall have villages to dwell in.[5] Give praise, then, rock-dwellers; the mountain-tops shall ring with their cries. 12 All shall give God his praise, till the renown of him reaches the islands far away.

13 Like a giant the Lord shall go out to battle, like a warrior that stirs up his own rage, with hue and cry, flouting his enemies.[6] 14 Too long I have been dumb, eaten my heart out, held myself in like a woman in labour;[7] now I will have my say, I will destroy, and as I destroy, devour! 15 I will turn mountain and hill into a waste, withering all their verdure, make barren islands of the rivers, dry up the marshes; 16 and I will lead men blindfold by unfamiliar ways, guide their steps by paths unknown to them; I will make the darkness light, and the winding ways straight for them. Such was my promise to them, and were they disappointed of it? 17 See how they are routed, how they blush and blench, the men who trust in graven images, and say to the idols they have cast, You are gods of ours!

18 Listen now, you that are deaf; look up, blind eyes, and see. 19 Who so blind as my servant, who so deaf as he, to whom my messengers were sent?[8] Who so blind, as he that has forfeited his liberty? Who so blind, as the Lord’s servant is? 20 Eyes that have seen so much, must they be still unheeding; ears open to every rumour, will they never hear? 21 It was ever the Lord’s will to sanctify him; so great, so glorious the law he gave him; 22 yet here is a people robbed and spoiled, caught by warriors that have hidden it away in dungeons, a prey there is none to deliver, spoil none bids them restore. 23 Which of you will listen to this, and mark it, and give a hearing to prophecy? 24 Who was it that made Jacob a spoil, gave Israel up into the hands of the conqueror? It was that Lord, against whom we have sinned. Because his ways lay untrodden, his laws went unheeded, 25 he poured out on Israel his angry retribution, war without mercy; and they? The flames burned round them, and they could not read the lesson, scorched them, and still they could not understand.

[1] The servant of the Lord, frequently mentioned in these later chapters of the prophecy, is beyond doubt a type of our Lord (cf. Mt. 12.18). It is not clear whether the prophet was also referring to events nearer his own time; and, if so, who was meant by ‘the servant’. Some think the Servant means primarily the people of Israel, or at any rate that portion of it which returned from the exile at Babylon (cf. verse 19 below). Others would identify him with some individual figure, as king Ezechias, Zorobabel (who brought back the exiles), or Cyrus king of Persia; many other names have been suggested. Meanwhile, it is to be observed that there are numerous quotations in the New Testament from this part of the prophet’s writings; e.g. Mt. 12.18 (from the present passage), Phil. 2.19 (from 45.24), Acts 13.27 (from 49.6), Rom. 15.21 (from 52.15), Mt. 8.17 (from 53.4), Acts 8.33 (from 53.7), I Pet. 2.22 (from 53.9), Mk. 15.28 (from 53.12), Acts 13.34 (from 55.3), Rom. 11.26 (from 59.20) Rom. 10.20 (from 65.1).

[2] Cf. Mt. 12.18, where the text differs considerably from the text here. ‘A lover of faction’; literally, ‘an accepter of persons’; the Hebrew text here is obscure, but it is generally taken to mean ‘lift up his voice’ (as in St Matthew).

[3] Literally, ‘the things which were first’, but the context makes the meaning clear.

[5] According to the Hebrew text, ‘and those, too, who dwell in the settlements of Cedar’.

[6] Some think that verses 13-17 allude to the events of the Exodus (see verses 15, 16); if so, they should probably be enclosed in inverted commas, as a quotation, as far as the words, ‘such was my promise’.

[7] It is not certain whether the words ‘like a woman in labour’ should be taken with the verb which precedes, or with the verb which follows them. The second part of the sentence, according to the Hebrew text is generally interpreted as meaning, ‘I will cry out, and gasp, and pant, all at once’; but the verbs used are rare, and their meaning is somewhat doubtful.